Crispy Pancetta Salad with Sugar Snap Peas

Whatever. This salad is GREAT. I wanted a really fun salad to go with this tahini dressing I made last week, and this one DEFINITELY fits that bill. The combination of flavors and textures is my absolute favorite – the earthy tahini, super sweet peas, super salty pancetta…you will LOVE this.

Of course, like any salad, you could use any old ingredients you have. If I had to choose, I’d say the pancetta, sugar snap peas, and scallions are the most important things here. Other veggies or cheese can be swapped out.

You’ll want the dressing already made. Click here to see how I did that!

First, let’s bake the pancetta so it gets crispy and lovely. Preheat the oven to 400F, and lay the pancetta in one layer on a baking sheet. 2 – 3 slices per salad is good for an entree, or just one slice per salad if your’re making these as side salads.

Bake the pancetta for 10 – 15 minutes until it’s shrively(?) and crispy. Let it drain on paper towels.

While the pancetta is baking, make the salads! Make a nice bed of lettuce, and prep your other ingredients: slice the scallions, shred the cheese, chop the tomatoes, and halve the peas.

Now, when I make salads I get picky about how I assemble them. I know this surprises you. I like to have all the lettuce and veggies scattered together nicely first, THEN I drizzle dressing on. Before non-veggie toppings. This is crucial.

Ok, so it’s not really crucial, but I think that if you have the cheese/meat/crouton type of toppings on top of the dressing you taste them more and they don’t get lost in the dressing. So, I sprinkle on cheese and crunch the pancetta into little bits over the dressed salad.